


I Like You For You

by meganekkomeguca



Category: Flip Flappers (Anime)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Self-Mutilation, Yuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-09
Updated: 2016-12-09
Packaged: 2018-09-07 13:17:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8802322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meganekkomeguca/pseuds/meganekkomeguca
Summary: [Post-episode 10] Pain, betrayal, heartbreak. It all stems from a fragment that ties Cocona to a life she never chose. Maybe if she can free herself from it, the pain will disappear, even if it means losing what made her special.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Have some post-episode catharsis! Will no doubt be non-canon by next week, but for now have papicoco pain and sweetness. Thanks again to Ange, Parm, Lynx, and Em for their help.

She heard the voice in her head, her mother's words. They faded, along with the aura of power that had surrounded her and saved her. Saved her, but at what cost? The soldiers who had come for her were destroyed. So was her grandmother - or the woman she'd thought was her grandmother.

Cocona collapsed to her knees. Her vision blurred and her stomach heaved. She hadn't eaten in- she couldn't remember. Not recently, for when she retched, only bile came up. She whimpered, gagged on the acidic taste left in her throat. Tears streamed down her face and splashed on the ruined floor.

It was all too much. Cocona had come home to escape the manipulation and betrayal that had been heaped on her in the last day, but it turned out that the deepest betrayal had awaited her here. She'd been saved by Mimi - her mother - but that was just another awful revelation. Mimi, her mother. Mimi, Papika's partner.

"I hate this," Cocona whimpered, her voice hoarse.

Her thigh throbbed slightly where her scar was. The fragment that connected her to Mimi was beneath her skin there, and its presence seemed to burn. Revulsion convulsed her body again, and Cocona heaved, her body shaking as she gagged on more bile.

Enough. This was enough. Cocona wanted out. No more adventures, no more Pure Illusion. No more fragments.

Cocona wobbled to her feet, the ground swaying beneath her. She lost her footing, scraping her knee on the ground, and picked herself back up, arms wrapped around her hollow stomach.

The kitchen would be this way. The house was in ruins - she could hear faint sirens in the distance - but perhaps there would be something...

Amidst the wreckage were plenty of utensils, and Cocona reached for a chef's knife. She'd never handled it before; her lack of cooking abilities had made itself known at an early age. But she wasn't going to use this for cooking. She let herself sink to the ground, one sweaty hand gripping the knife. She pushed her skirt back, locating the spot. It pulsed faintly with a light blue glow, sending a wave of nausea through her.

Cocona touched the cool metal point to her skin and took a deep breath. The part of her mind that wasn't covered by a fuzzy blanket of shock knew that, if she wanted to do this, she'd have to be quick, before she lost her nerve or too much blood.

The knife entered without a sound, sliding cleanly into her thigh. There was no pain, at least not in the first instant, and she sliced out a rough circle of flesh, trying to dig with the knife tip to pry out the fragment.

The pain hit her midway through the extraction, as blood welled up over her probing fingers and the knife's blade. Cocona bit her lip, drawing more blood, unable to fully muffle the scream that escaped. The fragment slipped from her leg, and she grabbed it in her sticky grasp. The knife fell from her other hand, and she gripped her leg in a fruitless attempt to stem the gush of blood.

A bandage would be the next step, but there was already so much blood, and she was so exhausted from everything. Closing her eyes would probably mean her death, but at this point any sort of rest seemed acceptable.

"Cocona! Cocona!" Beyond the sirens that grew louder and the hum of her pulse in her ears, a voice reached Cocona. Her heart twisted at the voice she only a few days ago would have given anything to hear. Cocona closed her eyes and let herself slump over. If Papika wanted to find her, then here she was.

"Cocona!" Papika's voice was closer, and Cocona heard her feet hit the ground as she jumped off her hoverboard. "Cocona!" She dropped to her knees at Cocona's side.

Cocona opened her eyes. Papika was looking at her in horror, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "You're bleeding! Cocona, what-"

Cocona drew a breath and lifted the hand that wasn't clenching her bleeding thigh. Papika captured the hand in both of hers, and Cocona twisted her hand so she could open her fist. She let the bloody fragment slip from her hand to Papika's. "Is this what you wanted?"

"Eh?" Papika withdrew one hand, her other still gripping Cocona's tightly. She stared at the fragment she held with a blank, uncomprehending gaze.

Did it make Papika happy, having the final piece of her beloved Mimi, no longer needing Cocona as an intermediary? She didn't know, and she would never find out. Papika's face blurred in Cocona's vision, and she could no longer feel Papika's hand on hers. Her eyes closed, and Cocona slipped into blackness.

~~~~~

Cocona hadn't expected to wake up. She didn't even realize she was awake at first. Her body sent staccato status reports to her brain: Pain. Leg. Weak. Heavy. Dizzy.

She began to piece the information together into a bigger picture as memories returned. Yayaka, a plant. Mimi, her mother. Papika- Don't think about Papika right now. Doing so hurt worse than the pain in her leg.

That was a lie. Behind a haze of what had to be painkillers, she could sense a brutal pain lurking, ready to batter her back into unconsciousness.

But Cocona wasn't unconscious right now, and a small shred of morbid curiosity wanted to know into what new hell she'd awoken. She opened her eyes.

A plain white ceiling. Staid pale blue privacy curtains on rails. An IV pole with a tube running from it. It didn't take a genius to guess that it led to her arm, and when she realized that, she became aware of the prickling sensation of a needle taped to her skin. It reminded her of her childhood, the testing and visits that had first brought her to meet Yayaka, and she shivered and pushed the thought from her head.

Cocona rolled her head to the right, away from the IV stand. What greeted her eyes was a more comforting sight. Next to the bed was a chair, and in that chair slumped Papika. Her school uniform was smudged with dirt, her red hair was windswept and tangled, and her face was drawn even in sleep, but it was Papika.

A whimper escaped Cocona. In spite of everything, this was what she wanted, for Papika to be at her side. "Papika..."

"Nn...?" Papika stirred and raised her head. "Cocona?" She blinked and looked around before zeroing in on Cocona on the bed. "Cocona!"

With a screech she dragged her chair closer. Bracing her hands on the bed, Papika leaned over. "You're awake!" Her eyes drank in every detail of Cocona's face, and tears spilled down her cheeks, a few splashing on Cocona's arm. Realizing this, Papika dropped back into her chair and buried her face in her arms on the bed. To Cocona's amazement, she burst into sobs.

She'd seen Papika cry before, when they were in Senpai's memories in Pure Illusion, but that had been a different circumstance. This time Papika was crying over something real, crying over her, and all Cocona could do was reach out a weak hand to smooth Papika's hair.

Papika reached out to grab Cocona's hand and held it secure in her own. She lifted her head and used her free arm to scrub away tears. "Cocona... It's really you? My Cocona?"

"Mm. Yeah.." She brushed her thumb over Papika's fingers curled on hers. "Your Cocona."

Papika smiled at her. The relief, the love in that smile made Cocona's chest ache. She missed this, smiling with Papika, holding her hand. It didn't even matter that Cocona was exhausted and hurting, because Papika's smile banished all those things, except the one last doubt.

"Papika..." she said, forcing her eyes to stay open against the wave of exhaustion that crashed over her. "What- What did you do with the fragment?"

"Huh?" Papika cocked her head like a dog that didn't understand a command.

"The fragment," she repeated. "From..." Cocona made a limp gesture with her free hand at her leg.

"Oh!" Papika looked where she pointed, worry creasing her face for a moment. She dropped her gaze. "Um... I think... I'm sorry, Cocona. I left it."

Now it was Cocona's turn to be puzzled. "You left it?"

"Eheh..." Papika gave her a guilty smile. "When you fainted," the smile tugged into a frown for a moment, "I dropped it, and I guess I forgot to pick it up again."

Cocona stared at her. "But it's important. That's part of Mimi."

"Yeah..." Papika ducked her head. "I'm sorry, Cocona. I'll ask Salt if someone can get it."

"Dummy." Cocona closed her eyes and let herself relax back into the pillow. A small giggle escaped her throat, irritating it slightly, but that didn't matter. Nothing could bother her now. She knew that Papika cared about her, Cocona, not just the fragment that had once been inside her. She giggled again, and tears slipped from her eyes.

"Cocona?" Papika squeezed her hand. "Cocona, what's wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

"Uh-uh," said Cocona. Her eyes still closed, she tugged Papika's hand closer and brought it to her lips, brushing a kiss over her knuckles and then wiping away some tears with their joined hands. She drew a deep, shuddering breath and squeezed Papika's hand tighter. Now that Cocona had started to cry, she couldn't stop.

Papika let out a small worried hum and leaned over to hug her. Some of her hair fell into Cocona's face, tickling a little. "It's gonna be okay," Papika murmured in Cocona's ear. "I told you I won't let you go." She kissed Cocona's ear as punctuation.

Cocona whimpered and pulled her hand free from Papika's, but only so that she could wrap her arm around Papika and hug her closer.

"My Cocona." Papika kissed her there again, then brought her lips to Cocona's forehead, a light, comforting kiss, brushing her lips along Cocona's cheek. "I'm here. I won't leave you." Her own tears mingled with Cocona's as she soothed her, and Cocona let herself float exhausted in these reassurances.

Sleep called to her. Cocona relaxed her grip on Papika and yawned. "Stay with me?"

"Yeah. Always." The bed rocked as Papika climbed up. She curled next to Cocona, one arm draped protectively over Cocona's chest. She nuzzled against Cocona, kissing her cheek again.

"Good," Cocona murmured. She opened her eyes just enough to see Papika and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "'M sorry for doubting you. My Papika." She smiled at Papika's startled expression and closed her eyes. She'd sleep well now that she was in Papika's arms.


End file.
